Ford NZ: online sales emphasis post-COVID-19

Ford New Zealand believes new car sales will be predominantly online during the post-COVID-19 era.

Managing director Simon Rutherford says Ford dealers are already familiar with working in an online environment. They were offering online sales/contactless sales to retail and fleet customers for some time before the COVID19 lockdown.

“So we just see this being the ‘new normal for a period. Our dealers and customers have bought and sold vehicles via Trademe and other platforms, often times completely contactless, so many are using that experience under the new guidelines and all our dealers will be able to facilitate this for our customers.”

Rutherford says that under Level 3, Ford envisages a purely online/contactless sales and delivery protocol across its network.

“Dealers have been selling online already under Level 4 and are just now just waiting to deliver vehicles to customers in a contactless process.”

He says that like Ford of Australia, “we are also working to develop a consistent online experience across our dealer stores. A customer would shop as they do today by selecting their preferred dealer, then their vehicle, before completing the transaction online supported by virtual technology.”

He envisages that some of the changes Ford has implemented “in this period and a change in consumer behaviours will stick” and a greater proportion of consumers will use remote and on-line services.

“But this is equally balanced by the view that we know many of our loyal customers place significant value on the face- to- face trusted interactions they have with our dealer staff and reviewing products and services ‘in the flesh,’” Rutherford says.

“Therefore we see technology as an enabler of consumer choice and that our job is to keep building our capabilities and value around consumer preferences.”

When the operating environment returns to normal, Ford sees a place for both online and face-to-face sales.

Though, he adds, perhaps ‘the ‘new normal’ will mean people buying purely online/contactless will be a larger part of the mix. But we’ll also still have people in showrooms, test driving vehicles as we’ve traditionally always had.”

When Level 3 starts on April 28, Ford dealers won’t be fully open and showrooms won’t be accessible to customers, says Rutherford.

“But we’ll still have contactless servicing, sales and test drive options available. When visiting Ford dealerships, customers can rest assured that we’ve put in place strict controls and rules around sanitation, social distancing and contact tracing to keep customers and our staff as safe as possible.”